Disclosing your stutter on a cover letter

On today’s show, I answer a question from Trey, a listener who wants to disclose his stuttering on a cover letter he is sending out with his resume. I provide my thoughts on his proposed disclosure (see below) and invite YOUR thoughts as well. After all, I’m not a career expert 🙂

Here is what Trey wants to write:

I am a student at _________High School, who maintains an above average grade level. Like every kid I can be a bit shy at first, but am very outgoing once you get to know me. I do suffer from a mild stutter, and I am open and comfortable to talk about it, although my stutter can be discouraging at times, I do my best to maintain a positive attitude. I also understand that it might hinder my ability to work in certain areas of the workplace that require a lot of talking.

What are your thoughts? Would you disclose your stuttering on a cover letter? Have you ever? Would you disclose your stuttering on your resume?

3 Comments

Speaking as a non-stutterer who might read the cover letter, “No.” He has 200 words to get her to turn the page to the resume.

Those 200 words should be used to customize the letter to the job. What interests him about the job, and what unique experience and skills does he have that make him the best candidate?

Instead of doing that, this letter focuses on two weaknesses.

This letter does a good job of showing how he tackles challenges (which is what interviewers want to know when they ask about weaknesses), but the letter isn’t the right place for it.

This final line gives her an excuse to move on to the next file rather than turn to the resume.

Disclose the stutter either at the beginning of the interview, or at the first block. The goal is to make the interviewer comfortable with what is, for her, an unusual situation, not to make excuses for the stutterer, then move her attention back to what a great candidate he is for the job. The public health nurse who stuttered did that at a workshop. We didn’t sit there wondering what we should do.

I’m coming at your cover letter question from a writer’s perspective. As a writer, I know the job of my first page is to make the editor put down his rejection slip and pick up the second page.

Similarly, the cover letter’s function is to make the recruiter put down the cover letter and look at the resume. The resume’s purpose is to score you an interview. The interview is where you land the job.

Disclosing in the cover letter gives the recruiter a reason to reject the applicant. It’s not fair, but that’s the world we live in. The same would be true of eczema or a history of depression. If there are a hundred people applying for the same job, the recruiter may think, “I don’t know how to deal with stuttering” and set aside that application rather than considering the applicant on his merits.

For that reason, I’d say, disclose as early as possible during the job interview, but not before.

Thinking about it some more, if it must be disclosed in the letter (say, the applicant is worried about a telephone interview) then as you said in the podcast, phrase it positively.

“As a young man who stutters, I’ve developed flexibility and on-the-spot problem-solving skills.” (Note that you slip the disclosure into a dependent clause so the recruiter has his attention drawn to the positives immediately.) Or possibly, “Because I’ve stuttered since age six, I’ve learned to maximize the effectiveness of my communication, which will help with customer service.”

Obviously the strength he highlights will depend on the position he’s seeking.